It was a scraggly little thing, the blue spruce that the Goudey family picked out from Robinson’s Tree Farm over on Herkner Road.

They were building a house in the late fall of 1996, and before the home was even finished and the family moved in, the tiny tree was in the ground.

“It was maybe a foot and a half high, if that,” says Patti Goudey. “It looked like the good old Charlie Brown Christmas tree.”

But right from that very first year, the little tree was lit up for all in the Goudy’s subdivision off Silver Lake Road to see and enjoy.

“We’re decorators at heart, the whole house is done up inside and out. And right up from the day I planted it until about five years ago, she always had Christmas lights,” Goudey says. “But she got so big we just couldn’t do it anymore. My husband had those poles you’d use to do it, and he had like five of them taped together trying to get all the lights up there.”

The tree, planted near a ditch on the side of the road, eventually got so massive that it took on a noticeable lean and appeared to be in danger of tipping over. Luckily, Goudey knew that the Traverse City parks department is always on the lookout for trees to be used as the official downtown holiday centerpiece. So while it was time for it to come down, the story of her little tree could not have had a happier ending.

“Our four kids grew up with it, and it was a really special tree for us,” she says. “It was just so nice to see her lit up one more time.”

City officials say the stately trees that end up at the intersection of Front and Cass are often those that private citizens, businesses or organizations are removing for landscaping reasons, or like the Goudey’s tree have started to present problems and need to be removed. No matter the situation, they’re coming down regardless.

“We don’t just go and cut down a big tree for the fun of it,” says Michelle Hunt, the city’s parks and recreation superintendent. “Maybe someone is doing a home construction project and it would have come down anyway, or it’s a sick tree that needed to be removed. I think that’s an important message to share.”

And while the word is out there that the city is looking for trees, it’s often a feast or famine situation. In some years they’ll get a bunch of calls from potential donors, and in others they may have to go out prospecting. Matt Bright, a certified arborist and the city’s parks division supervisor, recalls a recent year in which things came down to the wire.

“I remember when they were doing the roundabout by Keystone, I just so happened to be driving by there and there was a beautiful tree that looked like it was going to be impacted by that project,” he says. “I called around, and sure enough they were going to take it out anyway. So it all worked out.”

Part of the problem is not just any tree will work, even if it’s plenty tall. The city gets calls from people only to find out their tree is too wide to let traffic through, or perhaps just doesn’t look as great as the homeowner feels it does.

“A lot of times they’ll be by a house or another tree and the side will be pretty bare, and we want to stay away from it,” Bright says. “And we had one guy south of town with a beautiful tree, but it was just too huge. It would have worked if it wasn’t an intersection.”

It’s hard to tell someone the city has to pass on their tree, Hunt says, but sometimes there’s just no way around it.

“It’s good for people to know why we don't choose their tree, because it might be upsetting. Sometimes people think they’ll get selected just because they called us first,” she says. “But we don't want the tree to be hazardous, we don't want the tree to not work in the situation, so there’s a reason why we might have pass up your tree, even if you call us January 1 saying your tree is good for next year.”

One thing’s for sure: the family that does get selected is always bursting with pride.  

“It means a lot for families to be a part of this, and that's always really neat to see,” Bright says.

While the city cuts the tree, Team Elmers has for years donated a crew and equipment to help transport and install the tree at the intersection. It’s a considerable donation of time and talent, and the city is very appreciative.

"The parks division is grateful for Elmer's donation of staff and equipment each year,” Hunt says. “They are a valued community partner, and we appreciate their support to make this holiday tradition possible."